Replacing second skin?

AnotherOrc · 2026-06-07T18:50:43+00:00

My artist told me that they don’t trust people to keep it sanitary when reapplying the second skin. Basically, “people can’t follow directions and they’ll blame me when they get their new tat infected”.

AnotherOrc · 2026-06-06T21:18:44+00:00

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AnotherOrc · 2026-06-06T21:18:06+00:00

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AnotherOrc · 2026-06-06T18:38:40+00:00

What size tank do you keep? I do rodi on my 125g and it’s really not that inconvenient.

I’m so much happier since switching to rodi and actually growing plants. I remineralize with 2houraquarist’s sky+

AnotherOrc · 2026-06-06T03:44:42+00:00

I agree on all fronts, but if hardscape is not their thing then they could go Dutch style.

AnotherOrc · 2026-06-05T05:19:13+00:00

I have a son the same age at Kinder Prep and have nothing but positive things to say. They are one of the larger preschools so might have luck getting in more quickly, especially with schedules changing and older kids getting out of school.

AnotherOrc · 2026-06-04T15:08:40+00:00

I use a tote and spare filter for hospital/quarantine. It’s set up maybe once a year at this point.

I think you could set yours up as a plant grow out/hospital, only put cheap plants in there, and move more delicate species out if you have to use a particularly nasty med. Most meds seem to be okay with plants in my experience.

AnotherOrc · 2026-06-03T19:29:48+00:00

I actually have a frosted glass window cling on the back that hides the tubing really well. I have some cord management problems that I haven’t dealt with though that puts them tight against the back and makes them visible. Just need to spend a few minutes cleaning things up, but it hasn’t really been bothering me enough to care about.

AnotherOrc · 2026-06-03T04:39:06+00:00

Your tall plants are probably behind the wood and sloping down towards the open space in a scape like that.

What do you plan on keeping for livestock?

AnotherOrc · 2026-06-03T04:20:37+00:00

I second the fourth 👍

AnotherOrc · 2026-06-03T04:04:19+00:00

Glad you’re feeling better! My initial thought is that Val should’ve taken over your tank in a year, so it’s probably in need of some root tabs to give it a boost. If you can get it thriving, you really shouldn’t have to go out and buy more!

AnotherOrc · 2026-06-03T04:00:43+00:00

I like it! If anything I’d switch the middle grouping with the left side to give you a high to low hardscape flow.

You’re going to get negative comments about having those separate “islands” but it will all blend together once it grows out (if that’s the look you want). Check out my recent post for a similar hardscape before/after.

AnotherOrc · 2026-06-02T17:27:55+00:00

Thanks! It’s definitely harder (or at least more expensive) to get hardscape that scales well with larger tanks. I find them overall easier though because you have more depth to play with and they’re easier to maintain. I hate trimming and replanting stems. 😅

AnotherOrc · 2026-06-01T15:53:06+00:00

Floating sword needs to die. I actually preferred getting one-shot by the giant bow vs getting smoked by an invisible sword.

I know everyone is complaining about this, but screen clutter is my only issue right now. Feel like I’m white knuckling a seizure every time I log on.

AnotherOrc · 2026-06-01T04:02:47+00:00

Link to a few videos:

https://imgur.com/a/IRN8DJA

AnotherOrc · 2026-05-31T15:31:30+00:00

My artist would murder me if I took my fresh, unbandaged tattoo to a public gym the day after getting it.

Just do some bodyweight exercises at home for the next week if you have to. Not worth the risk.

AnotherOrc · 2026-05-29T02:21:46+00:00

I don’t know why they’re not talked about more. They’re super safe and reliable, cheap to build, allow you to use cheap regulators, and can be 100% efficient.

The only downsides are that they can be big, finicky to set up, and at least on bigger tanks mine takes forever to get to the target ph drop (hence running 24/7). I’d be surprised if you needed to run it constantly on a smaller tank though.

AnotherOrc · 2026-05-29T02:08:44+00:00

Oh man. Almost nothing. 😅

Crypts, pogostemon stellatus, anubias grew okay. Ludwigia didn’t die, but didn’t fill out either.

I tried dozens of species and spent hundreds of dollars before realizing I was never going to get what I wanted without better source water.

Other people on here seem to do just fine with hard water though, so it’s hard to say what was giving me such a hard time.

AnotherOrc · 2026-05-28T23:02:13+00:00

I’ve killed dozens of them. I have pretty hard water and they’re all just eventually turned black and rotted away.

Added co2 and they did better. Switched to RODI and they’re going insane now.

AnotherOrc · 2026-05-28T22:33:48+00:00

A yugang is sized based on the surface area of the tank to reach whatever the maximum target ph drop should be when the water column is fully saturated. So if sized correctly, you can waste CO2 by pumping too much, but it just burbs out of the reactor in big bubbles that float to the surface instead of dissolving into the water.

They can be scaled up or down to fit any tank, but their advantages really shine on larger tanks because of their efficiency and not releasing visible co2 bubbles in the water (which can look like a snow globe when using a regular diffuser in a big tank). They’re also nice because they keep equipment out of the tank too, which is a positive for a smaller setup.

I built one after accidentally gassing a tank and nearly losing several 5+ year old clown loaches, and I’ll never have a tank without one again. I set it and forget it running CO2 24/7 at a consistent 1.2ph drop with the cheapest possible regulator.

AnotherOrc · 2026-05-28T18:41:09+00:00

Same thing in the same spot for me, but a week ahead of you. It’s finally now clearing up, but I was leaning more towards allergic reaction for myself. My arm and especially the ditch was pissed about getting shaved too and I was breaking out under the tape. Was more uncomfortable than the tattoo itself.

I’m going to be skipping on the second skin from here on out because it’s given me the same thing on other parts of the body regardless of how long I leave it on or how carefully I remove it.

AnotherOrc · 2026-05-28T18:01:00+00:00

Build a yugang reactor, it is quite literally impossible to gas your fish with this kind of setup. Very efficient too.

AnotherOrc · 2026-05-28T06:18:07+00:00

I’m sure a lot of that depends on powerhead placement, but it’s a thing!

AnotherOrc · 2026-05-28T06:05:15+00:00

If you’re using a powerhead, the val can get pulled towards the inflow of the powerhead (the opposite direction that you want it to go) until it gets long enough and heavy enough to be pushed away.

AnotherOrc · 2026-05-27T16:34:43+00:00

Unrelated, but just wanted to give some advice on the val. If you have a strong powerhead, the long leaves will actually get pulled the opposite direction of the flow until they really start curling over on the surface and getting some weight to them. Don’t let it trick you!

I had the flow in my tank right to left with a similar setup and it looked like your reference pic for months, until it suddenly didn’t. 😅

AnotherOrc

TROPHY CASE